Oedipus the King by Sophocles
Karina Lazcano
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
English Literature
Anderson
Many will argue that fate cannot be escaped in Oedipus the King by Sophocles, where the main character is portrayed as a tragic hero with a predetermined fate. Both the concept of fate and freewill played an innate part in Oedipus ' downfall.
The play suggests that fate dominates over free will. Oedipus never had control of his fate; the day his mother gave birth to him, his parents attempted to kill him in order to prevent the prophecy. “True: it is not from me your fate will come. That lies within Apollo’s competence, as it is his concern” (75, 159-160). Oedipus fate was the God’s will that damned him since birth. Fate mastered free will when Oedipus’ pride overruns his arrogance and leads him to leave the parents he thought were his biological parents. Only to come that his arrogance drove him closer to his biological parents and doomed by the curse of Thebes.
Consequently, Sophocles points out that as much as free will takes place, life is predetermined. Oedipus tries his best to avoid the prophecy that Teiresias predicted; that he will murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus tried to change his fate by moving away, in reality it only brought him closer to his crossroads fate. Jean de La Fontaine once said, “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” Oedipus confronts his biological father in an intersection, then killing his father with his bare hands, just as the oracle that was told to him. Killing King Laios started a new problem; Thebes was now under a new plague that leads Oedipus the King to find the murderer of the King Laios. “..The Sphinx was performing here, What help were you to these people?...But I came by, Oedipus, the simple man, who knows nothing- I thought it out for myself, no birds helped me!”(75, 175-182) Pride and confidence led Oedipus, the King of Thebes to guide and protect his people but in reality Oedipus’ free will only
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
English Literature
Anderson
Many will argue that fate cannot be escaped in Oedipus the King by Sophocles, where the main character is portrayed as a tragic hero with a predetermined fate. Both the concept of fate and freewill played an innate part in Oedipus ' downfall.
The play suggests that fate dominates over free will. Oedipus never had control of his fate; the day his mother gave birth to him, his parents attempted to kill him in order to prevent the prophecy. “True: it is not from me your fate will come. That lies within Apollo’s competence, as it is his concern” (75, 159-160). Oedipus fate was the God’s will that damned him since birth. Fate mastered free will when Oedipus’ pride overruns his arrogance and leads him to leave the parents he thought were his biological parents. Only to come that his arrogance drove him closer to his biological parents and doomed by the curse of Thebes.
Consequently, Sophocles points out that as much as free will takes place, life is predetermined. Oedipus tries his best to avoid the prophecy that Teiresias predicted; that he will murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus tried to change his fate by moving away, in reality it only brought him closer to his crossroads fate. Jean de La Fontaine once said, “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” Oedipus confronts his biological father in an intersection, then killing his father with his bare hands, just as the oracle that was told to him. Killing King Laios started a new problem; Thebes was now under a new plague that leads Oedipus the King to find the murderer of the King Laios. “..The Sphinx was performing here, What help were you to these people?...But I came by, Oedipus, the simple man, who knows nothing- I thought it out for myself, no birds helped me!”(75, 175-182) Pride and confidence led Oedipus, the King of Thebes to guide and protect his people but in reality Oedipus’ free will only
Cited: Dudley, Fitts, and Fitzgerland Robert. "Oedipus the King (.430 B.C.)." Trans. Array. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1977. 67-93. Print. Apr. 2013 Fosso, Kurt. "Oedipus crux: reasonable doubt in Oedipus the King." College Literature 39.3 (2012): 26+. Literature Resource Center. Web. Apr. 2013. Jean de La Fontaine . “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." Think exist. Web. Apr 2013.